The Tale of Puerifoy
by Voloran
Summary: The Tale of the greatest Imperial Admiral - Andrus Puerifoy! Starting from his death.


The Tale of Puerifoy  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Asimov wrote.  
  
The End  
  
Andrus Puerifoy commanded the warship to enter the battle fray. His fleet had lost more than half its warships and the entrance of his Imperial Flagship; the Ancorator would hardly make a difference. But Andrus believed in himself and his tactics. The rebel Caurasans would curse the day they thought they could betray the Empire. Brilliant rays of light stabbed the serene darkness of space over a beautiful azure planet. Titanic warships lumbered around sending blasts of Tonite Guns onto other ships whose nuclear shields repelled the blasts and in turn sent a blast of their own. Small Space fighters flitted around the big ships like moths attracted to a light. They sent blasts of their own. Ships could be seen exploding every few seconds. Both Imperial as well as Courasan ships burst but the Empire was winning. Puerifoy was winning. Since the start of Puerifoy's career, his fame had never been blemished by defeat. Unless you count small unexpected skirmishes, Puerifoy had won every battle he had taken part in. He had got the Order of the Imperial Throne seven times and he was now the Grand Overadmiral of the Grand Fleet of the Galactic Empire that spanned over 20 million inhabited planets and ruled a galaxy. And Puerifoy was also and old man with paining knees that required surgery every often and a nagging lung disease that barely let him sleep at night. His face was wrinkled and his hair graying. He might have been handsome in his prime. His eyes were black and emitted a look of extreme ability and talent. He looked lazily, almost sleepily at the ensuing battle. Any new recruit would have been stuck to the view rooms looking awestruck at the battle among the colossal starships fighting angrily over a small portion of space. But Andrus Puerifoy was a veteran of hundreds of such battles. Fools like the Courasan Viceroy were born every day and dreamed of uprooting the Empire. As if it would ever fall! "Commander!" a junior officer suddenly said," We have sighted a large group of Meneran warships behind us." " Meneran?" Andrus said disbelievingly," That's impossible!" " We have attempted contact but they are not responding. Your orders Overadmiral?" the officer said in his crisp voice. " Call the outer guard! Now!" Andrus shrieked. The officer had no idea what this meant but Puerifoy had already understood the Meneran aim. He had suspected them since the beginning of the Courasan campaign but never did anything about it. And now they were trapped inside. Menera had joined the Courasan rebellion! There was only one thing to do. Escape! The thought was unbearable to Puerifoy but he had to think of his crew. If they were enmeshed, they were dead. " Yes Overadmiral." The officer laughed as if it made no difference that a horde of warships had suddenly arrived. Puerifoy wished he could have killed the officer. He wished he could somehow explain them the situation. But it was useless. Every man aboard worshipped his tactical ability and would think of his orders as jest. " Eternal Fools!" he said angrily. " Sir?" the officer said enquiringly. " Just do as I say you imbecile!" " But sir." He was unable to speak as the Meneran Warships suddenly bombarded the ship. Puerifoy saw nine of his ships explode simultaneously. The Ancorator itself was shaken by a great jolt. " All men to escape pods" blazed the warning. " Overadmiral!" A crewman came running," The enemy has shot our engine and hyperdrive. Shields are down! The ship is about to blow!" " To your pods then! Hurry!" Puerifoy shouted. The junior officer looked horrorstruck. Puerifoy was disgusted. He walked past the flashing lights of the corridor to the Control Chamber. No one was present. All had fled. He saw small ships escape the Ancorator only to be eviscerated by Meneral ships. He knew he had lost. Other Imperial ships were already fleeing into hyperspace. The first battle he had lost. Puerifoy fell to his knees and watched the Meneran Warships.  
  
In the space outside, Arvan Iopar was flying a small snubfighter. He had before him a huge mass of metal. Small transports were fleeing from it. He laughed in glee. The flagship of the Imperial Oppressors was dying and their best Admiral too. He was a firm believer in the belief that Menera was the original planet of Humanity. And the foolish, stubborn Imperials treated it as space garbage. The indignity had been suffered for thousands of years. But now Menera had joined the Courasan Alliance against the vile Purple of Trantor. But the dying ship was yet lethal. It still sent blasts of Tonite rays on Meneran ships as it burned. Arvan fired at an escaping transport and cackled happily as it burst into flame. Suddenly two blasts came up from behind and missed his ship by inches. Arvan saw two Imperial snubfighters following him. He sped forward and lifted up. The two Imperials followed suit. Suddenly, he cut all power to the engines ignited the reversers. As a result, the Imperials swept pass him. Arvan quickly took aim and blasted apart one ship but the other turned to port and eluded his Tonite blasts. He followed it to the Imperial flagship, which shot at Arvan. Arvan steered his ship and manage to stay away from the deadly radiation. But the prey was nowhere to be seen. Angrily muttering, Arvan sped to find more Imperials. Just then, he saw and exhaust opening on the flagship big enough for his ship. At the same time he saw a Meneran cruiser exploding due to Tonite blasts sent by the Imperial flagship. Arvan changed his mind from smaller prey and concentrated on the bigger one. He entered the exhaust, which led to the engine, and let loose a battery of missiles and Tonite blasts on the smoking engine and turned back. As he got out, the flagship had already started to explode. He yelled with joy that he had destroyed the pride of the Empire himself, all alone! But as he fled from the flagship, his previous 'prey' aimed at him and fired. Arvan's ship exploded instantly before Arvan had a chance to fully comprehend the idea that he had destroyed the Imperial flagship. Arvan died happily. At the same time, Andrus Puerifoy bowed his head and closed his eyes as the Ancorator exploded. 


End file.
